John Fetterman says it's ‘absurd’ to say he's a bully

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Sunday said he found it “absurd” that he was implied to be a bully by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) following his remarks on a rowdy interaction in a House committee.

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Fetterman said he was only responding to the chaos when he tweeted that a House panel was worse than "The Jerry Springer Show."

“If everyone on the committee was proud of what they’ve produced, they’re entitled to their opinion,” he told host Jake Tapper on Sunday.

Ocasio-Cortez disagreed with Fetterman’s initial tweet after the disorderly Thursday hearing where a number of representatives hurled insults at their colleagues.

“I understand you likely would not have stood up for your colleague and seem to be confused about racism and misogyny for being a ‘both sides’ issue,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “But I stand up to bullies, instead of becoming one.”

The panel was meeting to discuss contempt proceedings against Attorney General Merrick Garland, a target of House Republicans.

Instead, bickering erupted among some of the members.

“I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) during the hearing.